Why leaks controversy could linger

Until this week, the recent debate over leaks largely fit a familiar frame: Republicans and national security hard-liners faulted President Barack Obama’s administration for dishing out self-serving national security secrets to news outlets that many conservatives view as liberal.

But now, conservatives have a journalistic hero to call their own: Fox News reporter James Rosen may have reported sensitive information about North Korean nuclear tests — but what’s certain is he had his email searched and his phone calls and personal movements tracked in connection with that reporting by the government to find out who gave him the information. Rosen’s network is covering his predicament extensively.

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Scandal staying power

Obama insulated from scandal?

“There’s sort of a delicious irony here,” said Mark Feldstein, a former investigative reporter for CNN. “Before it was only the left screaming about WikiLeaks and the government crackdown on leaks. Now they’re in a position, if they’re going to be logically consistent, they have to defend Fox News.

“And Fox News, which has been screaming about leaks to WikiLeaks and The New York Times and other establishment papers, are going to have to do a belly flip to be consistent.”

So far, the controversy over how far the Obama administration went to figure out who was leaking sensitive national security secrets to journalists has mostly been overshadowed by a pair of other storylines dominating Washington — Benghazi and the IRS targeting of conservative groups.

But any issue that has both conservatives and liberals lining up with exactly the same question — did the Obama administration go too far in its zeal to plug the leaks? — is one that could stay on the scene for a long time to come, especially with so many questions still unanswered. Several House committees are already weighing the prospect of future hearings on the issue, though it’s unclear what form those hearings might take.

Obama will try to sweep the swirling leak controversy aside Thursday with a policy-laden national security speech about drone strikes and how the U.S. detains suspected terrorists. Aides say the speech has been in the works for weeks or more, but it is a rarity: Obama has never discussed the drone issue at length, and he last delved into his vision for Guantánamo Bay four years ago this week.

There’s no indication Obama will address the leak flap Thursday, but some experts see his speech as related because the lack of on-the-record information his administration has offered on key national security policies has spurred unauthorized efforts to bring such facts to light.

“There’s a real hunger for more information, which I think explains why the president is giving the speech everyone’s been waiting for,” said Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists. “There is a vacuum that creates a dynamic that favors disclosure [through leaks]. In some ways, we haven’t had enough leaks to make up for the lethargic character of the classification system.”

If Obama’s national security speech gives the White House some respite from the flurry of news over leaks, the break won’t last long. In just 10 days, the court-martial is set to get under way for Pfc. Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence analyst accused of the largest leak of classified information in U.S. history.

Manning has already admitted to offenses that could get him up to 17 years in prison. Military prosecutors are trying to convict him on a series of other charges, including a count of aiding the enemy that could get him put behind bars for life.